Say NO to exploitation – discovered a wood carving magician

 There is a famous saying, “Never judge a book by its cover!” and Mr. Bhaskar, a wood carver we met today, is a living example of this quote. Once we started interacting with him regarding his interests in carving, we were amazed by the love for his work and the emotions he instills in his art works. He is famous for his wood carving at the Ram Temple at Ram Nagar and few well-known places and temples of Coimbatore city.

The carving genius:

Mr. Bhaskar, who is forty-six years old now, hails from a family settled in Chittarkottai village near Rameshwaram. His family has been involved in wood carving for centuries now. His father, at the age of 80, is still working on wooden sculptures in the Rameshwaram temple. His family moved to Coimbatore around thirty years back, when Mr. Bhaskar was just ten years old. He learnt the art from his father without any standard educational procedures. He has been working on wood carvings for almost thirty years now, and some of his great works still stand majestically in bungalows and commercial areas.

His specialty lies in carving different flowers. Once the concept to be carved is given to him, he takes not more an hour to finish the carving in an area of one square feet. His designs are a combination of spirituality and nature, such as flowers, birds, animals and so on. Although the same carving only takes a couple of minutes in the modern CNC machine, the beauty and value of a handcrafted design is way higher.

The not-so perfect artist:

Inspite of being an excellent artist, Mr. Bhaskar came under the influence of alcohol and got to drinking. Being an alcoholic, he works on anything that comes to his mind, without paying much attention to the actual requirements. Few people have taken advantage of his weakness and got their work done for pennies, though their artistic value was many fold. His story made us see the reality of the lives of similar artists, who are being exploited for monetary benefits.

Let us celebrate art and give the value and glory it deserves, rather than exploiting artisans and defaming them!

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The last generation of rattan cane weaver in Coimbatore

Cane Weaving – the history:

The process of Cane Weaving originated many centuries ago in East Asia. It is a practice of weaving, using the outer skin of rattan plants available in abundance in these regions. In the 17th century, cane weaving was introduced to Britain, where it was evolved and developed to derive the famous six-way pattern, which is used till date. During the British rule in India, cane weaving was adapted in our country using the raw materials from Uttar Pradesh. At the time, rosewood and teak wood were mostly preferred to make the frames of the chairs and artisans weaved chairs seats with cane.

The sole rattan cane weaver in the city:

Mr. Thomas has an experience of almost 60 years in the field of cane weaving. Mr. Thomas was born in Kerala to a traditional cane weaving family. He learnt the art from his father at a very young age. At the age of 17, he moved to Coimbatore to try for a regular wage job. Things did not work as planned and so in 1962, he set up a small cane weaving shop in Variety Hall Road here. Being a specialist in his field, he became quite popular among his customers in the 80’s and 90’s. In the late 90’s, the demand for cane weaved products dropped owing to people’s preference for plastic wired products. Today, people are realizing the importance of healthy environment and are looking forward to use and buy products that are eco-friendly. Mr. Thomas is the only person in his family to know the art of cane weaving. Unfortunately, he is also the sole cane weaver in the city who can weave the six-way pattern.

The product range:

Mr. Thomas makes cane chairs, tables etc. apart from reworking vintage cane products like baskets and chairs.

Let’s hope that more people come forward to buy his products, thus saving his work for eternity.

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Discovered centuries-old wood art travelled from Persia to Southern India

   

     We heard quite a bit about a place called Channapatna near Bangalore from our friends and hence decided to visit the place last week. We got introduced to a local artisan there through a friend, who shared a lot of information about the centuries-old art form of toy making.

The artisans make the wooden toys using traditional tools as well as modern machinery. These toys are non-hazardous in comparison with the cheap plastic toys that are available in the market these days. Imported toys such as Barbie, Lego and other dolls are preferred today in our country and hence the popularity of these toys has started to fade away. Ironically, tourists and foreigners value these toys more than their own.

Origin of Chennapatna Toy :

The concept of toy making was introduced in our country during Tipu Sultan rule . He had friends all around the world, especially in Persia, Iran, from where he invited artisans to teach the art of wooden toy making to the locals.

Kids were drawn to these toys because of their diverse colors and shapes. As the demand increased, the artisans began manufacturing these toys all year round and passed on their knowledge to the next generation as well. The toys from Channapatna are carved out of ivory wood, making them perfectly shaped, and hence, unique. Thus, as years passed, Channapatna became the hub of toy making.

Manufacturing of Channapatna products :

Ivory wood, being available in abundance in this region, and possessing medicinal properties, was mainly used in toy making, while other wood types such as teak, rosewood, pine and sandal are seldom used. The products are made after seasoning the wood and painted only using vegetable dyes.

The decline of the toys:

The entry of character-based plastic toys from the western nations resulted in a steep decline of wooden toy sales. This forced the artisans to look for other opportunities to earn their living, reducing the number of artisans from 50000 to 6000 within a span of three decades.

Rebirth of Channapatna Art like pheonix  :

With the ever-growing awareness of environment safety and plastic hazards, the western countries have started banning products and toys made out of toxic materials from south Asia. Sensing the change in demand, certain companies and NGOs started the export of these organic wooden toys from Channapatna. But the impact of this change in the lives of the artisans is still unknown.

During Obama’s visit India, he was presented with the Channapatna toys, thus creating huge brand awareness for these toys. The fact that these toys are currently decorating the White House has increased its sales by almost 25% in the last six months.

Hope this rebirth and sales growth of Channapatna toys helps both the producers & consumers and have a positive impact in their lives.

Channapatna products :

Doll sets, show pieces, jewelry, pain relieving acupressure sets, key chains, kitchenware, incense stick holders, wall hangings & rocking horses.

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Discovered - Coir Expert Tribal

" Become Conscious consumers , and let the brands know , that we stand for fair purchase!”

One of our routine journeys to discover new artisans took us to Udumalpet this time. The NGO Udumalai Environmental Society established here, works for the betterment and upliftment of the people living in the tribal villages in the Annamalai Tiger Reserve area. We met the Secretary of the NGO, Mr. Nagaraj, who gave a detailed explanation about the life of the tribal people, who were displaced from the forest area and thereby settled in the Amaravathy region. We were informed that the members of the NGO trained them to make products for home décor and other accessories using coir, which is available in the Pollachi region in abundance.

Glimpses of the phases involved in the upliftment

Pollachi, being the world’s largest producers of coir-based products, provided ample scope for the tribals in this area to improve their livelihood. The NGO took steps to train some of these people in Allepey and thus engage them to make coir-based accessories and products, with adequate support from the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED). The training was then passed on to the other interested members and thereby the people started making various products using coir. The NGO also arranged to showcase these products in exhibitions all over South India and nearby places.

The product range includes mats, miniature baya weaver nests, necklaces and similar accessories. All the products are eco-friendly and long lasting. The mats, especially, are known to provide acupressure effect when stepped on them.

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Discover The Palm-leaf man

On a casual discussion about Lumbertome to an art lover, we were suggested to visit a place near Pollachi and meet a man who makes miniatures and traditional accessories with the leaves of the palm tree. Thus, we set on our journey to meet Mr. Krishnasami who lives in Bodipalayam village near Zamin Uthukuli.

Here goes a brief introduction about Mr. Krishnasami..

Mr. Krishnasami has been making these eco-friendly non-plastic products for nearly three decades now. He has earned a reputation in and around Pollachi and Coimbatore for making exquisite products for the affluent society. Many of his products have been shipped to various states in the country and to other countries as well. Mr. Krishnasami has also conducted workshops for students in different educational institutions on the art of using palm leaves.

Apart from his wife who helps him in the production, he has a workforce of around ten girls whom he has trained and recruited to assist him. He uses the simple process of drying fresh palm leaves and then transforming them into perfect little products. 

Mr.Krishnasami and his team have been recognized by the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles. 

A peek into some of his products..

Miniature flowers, birds and animals are used as decorative or showpieces during gatherings and festivities.

Other products include bags, hand fans, winnows, toys and many more..

Visit the gallery for more images..

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Discovered a cluster of artisans who breathes wooden art

Last weekend we traveled to interior of Salem region to find a town which is popular for wooden art . They are making various artistic showpieces and statues using different type of woods such as vengai & teak and many more. They are popular for making Theru (In Tamil) for Temple for generations . Their specialty is  that they use only chisel to work and they don't use much modern equipment's as it doesn't get perfection comparing to handwork.

About Thamampatti & Wooden work :
      Thamampatti is a town located near Valapadi which is emerging town with less exposure to technology and farming is another major economic source in that region.

      70 years back Thamampatti village panchayat decide to build Theru and other wooden idol for their temple by bringing carpenters permanently from Trichy & Salem region. As years went this artisan were approached by nearby village and towns to make wooden idols and other temple related wooden statues. As generation passed and working skills were passed to next generations and now mostly 3rd generation artisans are working as entrepreneur . They are recognized by  Tamilnadu Handicraft Development Corporation Limited which helped them to showcase their work in various exhibition conducted by Ministry of handicraft across country. Currently they get orders from India and abroad also few artisans have worked in many countries.

Decline of wooden artist:
As CNC technology started to penetrate into wooden business using which pieces can be  made for low cost and time so these artist are facing challenge from these type of technology based wooden business . So only few artist who had strong network connection and business skill survived and currently running their business in Thamampatti .
Hope in future emerging #3DPrinterkillsart doesn't bury artist skill and hand carving doesn't fade.
Specialization : Idols , Theru , Animal statues , different type of doors etc..

Wood : Mostly Vengai , Teak and rest of wood based on requirement.

As there are many artist spread across these region who are specialized in different area so please let us know if you are interested so we can direct you to right artisan.

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Discovered Marine Engineer transformed into Ship model builder :

  Today we met Mr. Sudheer ( Artist ) in his workshop in T.V.S Nagar , Coimbatore .  He is specialist in making different styles of ship models  , vehicles and pooja mandapam using wood. Sudheer is working in this handicraft field for last two decades . He designs structure and with help of carpenter executes products. He was an Marine engineer by his profession before starting this handicraft venture which makes him in master of making Ship model of different sizes starting from 1.5 ft - 6 ft of length.

About Sudheer life and work :

  Mr. Sudheer was Marine engineer as profession and worked in ship for 15+ years . He came out of marine profession due to personnel reason and started few business in Coimbatore but things didn't go well as expected and satisfaction was missing in his life.

   

    Once while building his house in Coimbatore he came across of lot of waste wood during construction . So Sudheer thought of making a ship for his remembrance of his sea voyage and made a collaborative ship which had all style inside model such as war ship , pirate ship , cruise and cargo ship. Once completing ship model in 4 months surprisingly he found business feasibility for his artistic thought as well as live life with his marine passion. So he started to make wooden ships in various size and boat which was mainly bought by people in Hotel , Offices and educational institution.

 Sudheer was gaining more experience with wood as years passed. He started to find clients in metros and also he was recognized by Tamilnadu Handicraft Development Corporation Limited . He participate in various handicraft exhibitions around India. In 2008 he stopped his handicraft work due to major health issue and again this year he started his work to get back to his artistic life.Let us support them by buying from him or promote them via social media.

Wood used : He uses various wood such as teak , rosewood , pine based on customer requirement .

Handicraft Products : Ship & Boat Models , Interior miniature  , rickshaw , bicycle and many more engineering based  products.

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Lumbertome Team